Category: Work Injuries

A former waiter at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell,
Co Cavan has had his claim for compensation against his former employers heard
by the High Court. Robert Miloch, who is suing the Slieve Russell Hotel and its
parent company, Quinn Hotels Limited, for a back injury he sustained while
attending to his daily duties.

Miloch, who was unable to walk after two discs in his back
crushed a nerve when he attempted to retrieve breakfast trays from a cart at
the hotel, was unable to walk home after sustaining the injury. In support of
his claim, Miloch showed the court an MRI scan of his injury at the time it
happened.

Both defendants are disputing Milcoh;s claim, saying that
his injuries could have been caused by a car accident in which he was involved
later in the year; adding that Miloch’s doctor described his injury as “paradoxical”.

The family of a man crushed to death between two diggers at
his workplace in Co Wicklow have been granted �550,000 in compensation by Mr
Justice John Quirke at the High Court. Twenty-seven-year-old Ronan Conway was
killed when he went to investigate something which had fallen on the ground
where he was working. On leaving the cab of the digger, Conway was crushed by
the two diggers, in one of which he had failed to lock the safety lever in
place.

Conway’s employers, OB Hire and Sales Limited disputed liability,
claiming that Conway failed to heed advice which was given to him when taught
how to operate a digger. They claimed that his own negligence led to his
accident.

The family of a Lithuanian man has been awarded €350,000 in
compensation for his death, which happened when he was crushed to death while
working in a lighting store in Co Waterford. Rimydas Valteras of New Ross, Co
Wexford was killed while standing on a forklift being operated by a colleague
at Harte Designs of Adamstown, Co Wexford. The forklift crashed while Valteras
was standing on it, resulting in fatal crush injuries.

The forklift driver Emmet Delaney and the pair’s employer,
Harte Designs, both accepted liability for Valteras/ death. Mr Justice John
Quirke awarded the family €325,000 to compensate them for the earnings missed
out on due to the death, and an additional €24,600 to represent their pain and suffering.

A postal worker who took action against his employer for
injuries he sustained at work has won his claim for injuries at work at the
Circuit Court in Dublin. Edward Pyne suffered an avoidable injury at work in
November 2006 when he damaged his big toe on his right foot after a package of
floorboards fell onto it. Pyne had to undergo several operations for an ingrown
toenail he suffered as a result of the accident, which he claimed also
developed several infections.

Circuit Court president Matthew Deery awarded Pyne €16,000
in compensation after hearing how An Post should have supplied him with
steel-capped boots as part of his postal uniform. The postman had only recently
worn out a pair which had been provided to him three years previously.

The widow of a peace-keeping soldier has been awarded
€100,000 for the loss of her husband, who died more than 20
years ago while serving overseas. Private Maddix Armstrong (26) was killed by a
landmine while on patrol near the town of Brashit in Lebanon on March 21. 1989

Maddix’s widow, Grainne, alleged that the State had failed
in its responsibility to take all reasonable precautions to ensure her husband’s
safety. She took action against the State and the Minister for Defence. Grainne
alleged that Maddix was told to travel by truck into an area with an
ever-present danger of landmines without remote-sensing equipment and with no
prior search of the area carried out.

Defence Minister Alan Shatter later announced that a review
in Maddix’s death, and the two soldiers he was with at the time, would be
carried out.

Irish farm fatalities more than doubled in 2010, a report released
by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has revealed. 25 farmers died while
tending to their farms in 2010, a 127% increase on the 11 who died in 2009.

“Farming is a difficult and challenging occupation, may
involved are self-employed and the pressures that farmers are under cans be
intense at times. However, the fact is that the types of farm accidents that
are causing deaths and serious accidents, such as those involving livestock and
machinery, can be prevented,” commented Martin O’Halloran, chief executive of
the HSA.

O’Halloran also urged farmers to follow the example set in
the construction industry, which has seen a substantial drop in fatal accidents
in recent years. He attributed this turn around to everyone “buying in” to
health and safety.

Garda claimants around Ireland shared €12m in compensation in
2009, newly released figures have revealed. The claims, made under the Garda
Siochana Compensation Acts covered both Garda who pursued compensation, and
civilians who were injured on Garda property, who are also entitled to claim
under the act. The highest award paid out was €132,000.

Over €3m was paid for accidents involving Garda squad cars,
the Controller and Auditor General has said. Payments ranged from €2 to
€250,000 and were made in 230 cases resulting from 532 accidents.